I’m always amazed when someone categorizes the art I do. I never really see it as a specific kind of art. It is simply my art.

It is how I breathe, how I explore what is around me and what is happening within me.

Over the years, I’ve worked in different mediums, styles, and stories. Sometimes one thing leads to another, wondering where the art will go. With my current ballpoint pen pieces, I do not use pencil or eraser, so no line can be taken back - it becomes part of the piece. Collage is part of that same process - bringing separate images, shapes, and ideas together.

Today…now…always.

I create.

Artist Bio

MaryAnn van Hengel is a multidisciplinary artist working across fine art, illustration, photography, needlecraft, pottery, and graphic design. Raised in Tarrytown, New York, she earned her BA from SUNY Oneonta, where she dual majored in Studio Art and Theater Production before beginning her career in advertising at Saatchi & Saatchi.

Her later work included theatrical poster design for off-Broadway productions, early digital imaging and freelance photography. She published and licensed two greeting card lines where she created original, illustrated characters, the Hoppingtons and Silly Dillies.

Across mediums, van Hengel’s practice is rooted in experimentation, storytelling and ongoing creative exploration.